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What do you think of these sentences? I found them on the Net. I mean, should they function here as a gerund or a participle? Are both of them possible? 1 Smoking cigarettes are dangerous 2 Smoking cigarettes is dangerous

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  • I'd say that "smoking cigarettes" is a non-finite gerund-participial clause functioning as subject of the sentence. Non-finite clause subjects take singular agreement, so only 2. is correct.
    – BillJ
    Commented Jun 21, 2021 at 17:21
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    Flying aeroplanes can be dangerous.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Jun 21, 2021 at 18:00
  • Does this answer your question? Gerund and participle comparison
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Jun 21, 2021 at 18:02
  • @BillJ If the first one is correct (read warning about bush fires in Oz), the head is the noun cigarettes and smoking is an attributive modifier.
    – Araucaria - Him
    Commented Jun 21, 2021 at 19:12
  • Yes, but discarded lit cigarettes are usually called "lighted (or burning) cigarettes", not "smoking cigarettes*.
    – BillJ
    Commented Jun 22, 2021 at 4:46

1 Answer 1

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2 is correct, as "smoking cigarettes" is a gerund phrase, acting as a noun/subject in the sentence. However, 1 can also be correct if what you mean is that cigarettes that are burning (having smoke coming out of them) are dangerous things. :)

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  • I'd say that "smoking cigarettes" is a gerund-participial clause.
    – BillJ
    Commented Jun 21, 2021 at 17:18

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